Almost all of us have had to deal with diseases that require the use of antibacterial drugs to achieve a therapeutic effect. They are aggressive drugs with the microflora. That is why the question arises of when you can drink alcohol after antibiotics, since many would not want to give up wine, cognac, beer or vodka for a long time.
The question is ambiguous and there is no direct monosyllabic answer. There are different opinions in the media. Some people, during a holiday with a party, consider it more correct to refuse to drink alcoholic beverages, based more on intuition than on reliable information from authoritative sources. Such a person in a company evokes sympathy and understanding, usually no onedoes not persuade him to drink. However, there are times when someone refers to an article in which a doctor popularly explains what does not always interfere with the healing process.
Why you shouldn't take medications with alcohol
As you know, there is no smoke without fire. Doctors can scientifically justify banning the use of antimicrobial agents and the consumption of vodka or beer at the same time. In addition, they claim that antibiotics can be taken after drinking alcohol after a strictly defined period of time. Experts appeal to the following facts:
- ethanol at the biochemical level significantly reduces the therapeutic effect of antimicrobial agents;
- the combination of alcohol with antibacterial drugs causes toxic damage to liver cells, as well as other internal organs;
- Alcohol consumption suppresses the immune system and has a devastating effect on health, which during the period of drug therapyvery undesirable.
There is a rational essence in the above arguments. The biochemical processes occurring in the body are extremely complex and balanced, therefore the saturation of the tissues of internal organs with such a biologically active compound as ethyl alcohol cannot but affect the metabolism. In fact, alcohol can significantly reduce the therapeutic effect of drugs. It destroys the atomic structure of the active ingredient or prevents the reaction of drugs with proteins of pathogenic microorganisms. Additionally, alcohol can cause accelerated elimination or hinder the absorption of drugs. That way happensdecreased effectiveness of therapy, or unwanted secondary symptoms develop.
Effect on liver function and condition.
Scientific research and the practice of clinical medicine confirm the destructive effect on the liver of the combination of antimicrobial drugs with alcoholic beverages. That is why the instructions for use of medicines indicate contraindications and side effects on this extremely important organ. For patients with chronic liver diseases, many medications are not available. If you combine antimicrobial medications and alcohol, the negative impact will be twofold. How soon should you drink alcohol after antibiotic treatment?depends on general conditionthe body and its ability to recover.
Under the action of enzymes, ethanol decomposes into water and carbon dioxide, but not immediately, but without going through the intermediate stage of formation of an extremely toxic compound - acetaldehyde, which is a poison for tissues. The faster alcohol is broken down, the less damage it causes to the body. However, with the simultaneous presence of antimicrobial drugs in the tissues of internal organs, the catabolism of alcohol is significantly slowed down due to the inhibition of the production of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, which is necessary to complete the decomposition reaction of ethanol into simple compounds. .
Ethanol does not interact directly with antibiotics.
To find out how alcohol affects medications, as well as how many days after finishing a course of antibiotics you can drink alcohol,laboratory experience. First, scientists conducted experiments on animals and then invited volunteers who were asked to undergo a therapeutic course of antibacterial drugs. The participants were equally divided into two groups. Representatives of the first group were offered alcoholic beverages during the experiment, while the second were not. The main objective that the organizers tried to achieve was to establish the effect of ethanol on the biological activity of drugs.
The results of the experiment showed that most antibacterial drugs interact slightly or do not interact at all with ethyl alcohol; practically does not reduce the effectiveness of the drugs used. A similar conclusion was reached after studying and comparing the results of antibacterial drug therapy between the two groups. They turned out to be identical. The difference did not exceed the allowable error. The rate of absorption, distribution in the tissues of internal organs, as well as the elimination of active substances wasapproximately the same.
HoweverOne should not jump to conclusions that the simultaneous use of antibiotics and alcohol is completely safe. Experts ask you to take into account some nuances:
- The experiment was isolated and not confirmed by other studies, so the safety of the combination of drugs and alcohol should not be insisted upon;
- experimental subjects were offered small doses of alcoholic beverages, but in real life moderation in the consumption of vodka and beer is quite rare;
- The studies focused solely on the drug interaction with ethanol; The effect of this combination on the state of internal organs has not been studied, so the negative impact cannot be denied.
This was the first tentative step toward a complete answer to the important question of how long after a course of antibiotics you can drink alcohol, making the final decision andno clear results.
Reasons to avoid drinking during treatment
Clinical medicine has every right to say that the combination of alcohol and drugs should be avoided. Even if their mutual effects have not been adequately studied, enough is known about the health effects of ethanol to draw certain conclusions. It is impossible to deny that:
- alcohol disrupts metabolic processes if drunk regularly;
- ethanol causes an increase in sugar levels in the bloodstream;
- alcohol consumption causes physical and nervous exhaustion;
- the risk of an allergic reaction increases by an order of magnitude.
Each person has individual characteristics of internal biological processes, so it is possible to predict the body's reaction.almost impossible, but it is unlikely to be positive.
Interaction of alcohol with antimicrobial drugs.
According to the experiment, drinking alcohol-containing beverages does not affect the pharmacological properties of most antimicrobial agents and does not cause significant side effects. However, there are antimicrobial drugs that cannot be taken with alcoholic beverages at all, because such a combination has truly dangerous consequences.
Just a few days laterYou can drink alcohol after taking antibiotics, which affect metabolism. For example, these drugs against fungal infections and their analogues require the participation of an enzyme in the biochemical reaction, which is also necessary for the decomposition of ethanol. Your supplies are limited. When consuming large doses of ethanol, a conflict arises. There is simply not enough enzyme to interact with the drug or react with the ethyl alcohol. In the first case, we will surely observe a decrease in the therapeutic effectiveness of the drug, in addition to possible allergic reactions and an increase in the side effects of the drug. If ethanol is not decomposed, acute poisoning with all the ensuing consequences cannot be avoided. That is why it is not advisable to take antimicrobial agents of this type at the same time as alcohol.
A disulfiram-like reaction is the main reason for prohibiting alcohol consumption during antibiotic therapy. Interference with the catabolism of ethanol in the body leads to the accumulation of the aforementioned acetaldehyde: acetaldehyde. This is a potent toxin that has an overall negative effect on the body. The most common andunpleasant signs of poisoning:
- nausea with attacks of vomiting;
- Stomach ache;
- acute headache;
- profuse sweating;
- general weakness, dizziness;
- tachycardia;
- pressure increase.
I agree that this physical condition more clearly proves the thesis that antibiotics should be used after an alcohol treatment a few days later, so that ethanol and its toxic decomposition products have time to leave the body naturally.
By the way, the disulfiram-like reaction is named so because of the drug for the prohibitive therapy of chronic alcoholism - disulfiram. Its use forces alcoholics to stop drinking alcohol precisely due to the development of fear of panic in the face of symptoms.acute intoxication. The drug is injected into the subcutaneous (implanted) layer, from where it gradually enters the body and blocks the production of the enzyme responsible for the breakdown of ethanol.
What complications to expect?
The time it takes to safely return to drinking alcohol after a course of antibiotics depends on the antimicrobial drug (the rate of absorption and elimination), as well as the individual characteristics of a person's metabolism.
Doctors emphasize that the ban does not apply only to a glass of cognac or vodka. You should forget about wine, beer and low alcohol drinks. In addition, ethyl alcohol is often found in other foods, as well as in medicines, so it is worth paying attention to this aspect.
You can often hear that someone you know drank alcohol and took antimicrobial medications, without negative consequences. However, no one knows what happened to this man's body.how effectiveIt turned out that the treatment lasted, how long it lasted, how his health is now. Meanwhile, in the practice of clinical medicine, many cases have been recorded when people did not comply with the recommendation for how long to drink alcohol after antibiotics, but drank it during treatment and eventually became victims. :
- violationsLiver function;
- Anaphylactic shock;
- disturbances in the functioning of the brain and the central nervous system in general (severe headaches accompanied by dizziness, nausea with attacks of vomiting, convulsive attacks);
- gastrointestinal diseases;
- sleep dysfunctions;
- hypertension;
- negative skin reactions (dermatitis);
- heart rhythm disturbances;
Our natural filter, the liver, suffers the most. Despite the ability to renew cells, it is so negatively affected that it eventually loses functionality.
The last word in the debate on the combination of alcohol and antibiotics
After completing drug therapy, it is necessary to wait a few days before starting to drink alcohol. This is due to the elimination of the products of drug catabolism from the body, and this requires a certain time. All drugs have different times to reach maximum blood concentrations and elimination. Always isindicated in the instructions.
It is not recommended to consume alcoholic beverages at the same time not only with antimicrobial agents, but also with other medications. However, antimicrobial medications are one of the few that are strictly prohibited. If you are going to undergo drug treatment, be sure to ask your doctor how long after you can drink alcohol after taking antibiotics.
Despite the fact that the expert opinion of specialists on the admissibility of the simultaneous use of alcoholic beverages and antibacterial drugs is divided (excluding those drugs that havethe restrictions are clear), most doctors are inclined to conclude that it is better for patients to stop drinking alcohol during treatment.
In any case, alcoholic beverages are far from being a product worth risking your health for, even if the risk seems insignificant. Nothing bad will happen if you become an avid teetotaler for 2 weeks. Even a healthy person's body succumbs to alcohol over time. Long-term consumption of alcoholic beverages leads to the development of a large number of various somatic and mental disorders. If a person does not give up alcohol during an illness, then we can say with confidence that the physical and mentaldegradation will accelerateduring this period of time. Even if you could drink alcohol at the same time as taking medication, you shouldn't. Ethanol is poison, but it is impossible to count how many fates vodka has broken